JAMU provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports for global exchange of knowledge. Publication in JAMU is fully supported by Association for Medical Updates; therefore there is NO PUBLICATION CHARGES for the authors.
Unbiased, independent, critical assessment is an intrinsic part of all scholarly work, including the scientific process. Peer review is the critical assessment of manuscripts submitted to journals by experts who are not part of the editorial staff, and is, therefore, an important extension of the scientific process. Each article submitted to JAMU for publication is reviewed by at least two senior specialists of the concerned specialty. The double blind process is strictly followed and, in certain controversial cases, the opinion of a 3rd reviewer can also be sought.
Upon initial submission of the manuscript, the author will be acknowledged of the receipt via e-mail. Initially an article will be reviewed by one member of the Editorial team to judge the quality of the paper. Articles written in poor English language or not conforming to JAMU guidelines will either be rejected or returned to the authors to rectify the shortcomings. Manuscripts deemed proper should be forwarded to at least two subject experts to provide their unbiased input. Acceptable manuscripts will be checked for data analysis and verification of references before the author will be notified about the status of the paper with any suggestions for modifications. Finally accepted articles should be forwarded to the printer for typeset and formatting, etc. and the proof will send to the authors for proof reading, before publication.
The Editorial committee consisting of the Editor- in-Chief, Associate Editor, Editors, Assistant Editor(s) and the editorial secretaries meet at least twice a month to expedite the business of the journal. The editorial committee follows the guidelines provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication which can be downloaded fromhttp://www.icmje.org/
The JAMU Editorial Board and publication staff keep all information about a submitted manuscript confidential and limited to those involved in the evaluation, review and publication process. The JAMU used a double-blind review process so that authors’ names and affiliations are not revealed to reviewers nor are reviewers’ names revealed to authors. Only information on accepted articles is archived for future reference.
It is the responsibility of every person listed as an author of an article published in JAMU to have contributed in a meaningful and identifiable way to the design, performance, analysis, and reporting of the work, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Authors must complete an authorship form clearly stating their responsibilities, contribution, and financial sources.
According to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), as revised in 2013, authorship credit should be based on the following 4 criteria:
- substantial contributions to conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
- drafting of the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
- final approval of the version to be published;
- agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged.
All authors (corresponding author and each co-authors) must read, complete, and submit an electronic Authorship Form with signed statements on Authorship Responsibility, Criteria, and Contributions and Confirmation of Reporting Conflicts of Interest and Funding.
Authors must agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work in its original publication form (pdf) with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchange and greater citation of published work.
Conflict of interest exists when as author (or the author’s institution), reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence (bias) his or her actions (such relationship are also known as dual commitments, competing interests, or competing loyalties). However, conflicts can also occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion. Increasingly, individual studies receive funding from commercial firms, private foundations, and the government. The conditions of this funding have the potential to bias and otherwise discredit the research. When authors submit a manuscript, they are required to disclose all financial and personal relationships that might bias their work. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.
It is the discretion of editorial committee of JAMU to resolve any conflict of interest between the author(s) and reviewers. Editors may choose not to consider an article for publication if they feel that the research is biased by the sponsors funding the research project.
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and representing them as one’s own original work. Within the academia, it is considered dishonesty or fraud and offenders are subject to academic censure. Plagiarism can be unintentional or intentional, reproducing academic material without appropriate credit to the original authors. Similarly self plagiarism is the re-use of significant, identical or near identical portions of one’s own work without citing the original work. This is also known as Recycling fraud. Worst form of plagiarism is to steal the whole article from some journal and publish it under one’s own name in another journal. The Editorial Committee of JAMU will blacklist any author found to be guilty of plagiarism. The name of author(s) committing plagiarism will also be disseminated to editors of other medical journals.
Human clinical trials and studies conducted in animals (or not) must have been approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). In the absence of such a formal ethics review committee, the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 and/or the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, as adopted and promulgated by the United States National Institutes of Health, must be followed. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. In case of any study involving clinical trial, taking of informed consent of patients is mandatory. Whenever editorial committee of JAMU feels necessary, the research paper will be referred to the Research Ethic Committee of JAMU for its evaluation and approval.
An advisory board comprising of members with significant professional experience in different fields of medical sciences helps the Editorial Committee in policy matters when needed. Senior specialists from India, as well as professionals from foreign countries are members of the Board.
Please feel free to email us at amusecretariat@gmail.com
